1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to sanding operations and, in particular, to an automated sanding system for performing these sanding operations. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to an automated sanding system for sanding surface mismatches on the surfaces of objects.
2. Background
In the manufacturing of certain objects, undesired surface inconsistencies may sometimes be created on the surfaces of these objects. As one illustrative example, milling operations performed during the manufacturing of a wing for an aircraft may result in out-of-tolerance surface inconsistencies. A milling operation is a machining operation that removes material from a workpiece. This operation may be performed by, for example, without limitation, cutting material away from the workpiece, cutting slots into the workpiece, threading, routing, planning, drilling, and/or performing other types of cutting operations.
Milling operations may be performed using a milling machine. A milling machine may include one or more cutting tools. A cutting tool may be used to remove material from an object while the cutting tool is moved relative to the object. In some cases, a surface feature is created on the surface of the object after this operation is performed. This surface inconsistency may be referred to as a “mismatch,” a “surface mismatch,” or a “cutter mismatch.” The mismatch may take the form of, for example, without limitation, a raised edge, a sharp edge, or some other type of surface mismatch. The mismatch may be the result of, for example, a step-over in the direction of travel. As another example, the mismatch may be the result of the cutting tool replacing another cutter tool.
When a mismatch is outside of selected tolerances, the mismatch needs to be reworked to within the selected tolerances. For example, the mismatch may need to be sanded down to within selected tolerances. This sanding operation may also be referred to as “blending” the mismatch with the rest of the surface of the object. The blending of a mismatch with a surface is typically performed using a manually-operated sanding device. However, using a manually-operated sanding device to blend multiple mismatches may be more time-consuming and labor-intensive than desired. Additionally, the quality of the blending of multiple mismatches may be less consistent than desired when performed manually.
Further, depending on the shape, size, and type of object on which these mismatches are located, manually blending these mismatches with the surface of the object may be ergonomically difficult for a human operator. For example, using a manually-operated sanding device may cause ergonomic issues with respect to the hands, wrists, arms, shoulders, and/or back of the human operator operating the sanding device. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.